This online American Literature course is designed for high school homeschoolers in grades 9–12 who are ready to explore the diverse voices and stories that have shaped the American experience. Optional live weekly meetings will offer time for face-to-face conversations, questions, skills reinforcement, assignment clarification, and addressing other student concerns as needed.
Through thematic novel study, short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, students will engage deeply with questions of identity, place, society, and belief. They will analyze literature across major American movements—from Puritan sermons and Romantic poetry to Harlem Renaissance essays and postmodern prose. Students will write scholarly essays and complete a creative project that demonstrates both insight and originality.
Class Details
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American Literature | Traditional full-year class
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Tuition & Resources:
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Tuition: $700
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Required class reading and resources TBD.
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Instructor: Tara Limoco
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Dates: August 25, 2025 to May 8, 2026
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Weekly Live Meetings (Optional): Tuesdays | 12-1:15 PM EST
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Students may choose to attend all, part, or none of the weekly meetings as needed.
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Office Hours: TBD
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Grade level: 9th-12th (14+)
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Students should have completed 8th grade or higher English coursework, be comfortable with paragraph structure, and familiar with the five paragraph essay.
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Format:
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Instruction is delivered through a dedicated online classroom. Optional live weekly meetings focus on short lesson reviews, discussion to clarify understanding of the weekly reading, opportunities to reinforce or extend skills, and time to address student questions. The class will engage throughout the week in our online forum for discussion, short skills-based assignments, and peer feedback.
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This is a teacher-graded course. Weekly assignments may include self-graded, peer reviewed, or automatically graded components, but essays and projects will receive detailed, individualized feedback from the instructor. The instructor is available for student questions and support during office hours or by request.
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Average Weekly Time Commitment: 6–8 hours.
A Journey Through American Voices
What is the American Dream? What defines an American? How do race, religion, gender, geography, and ideology shape who we are and what we write?
In this course, students will self-select novels across seven thematic categories:
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The American Dream
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The Power of Place and Humanity’s Relationship to Nature
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Coming of Age
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Inequality, Liberty, and Justice
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Community vs. Individualism
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A Nation of Immigrants–Melting Pot Mythology
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Wealth, Power, and Classism
Literary Movements Students Will Encounter
In addition to their novel choices, students will read short stories, poems, and essays by key writers that exemplify the major movements in American Literature. Some of the authors they will encounter include Anne Bradstreet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Zora Neale Hurston, Mark Twain, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Steven Crane, Kate Chopin, and Flannery O’Connor.
Each weekly reading assignment will be accompanied by a discussion on our online forum, designed to foster literary insight, peer engagement, and critical thinking.
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Colonial & Puritan Writing
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Enlightenment & Revolutionary Era
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Romanticism & Gothic
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Transcendentalism
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Realism & Naturalism
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Modernism
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The Harlem Renaissance
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Postmodernism & Contemporary Voices
Deep Reading, Thoughtful Writing
Writing about reading is as essential as the reading itself. Students will increase their ability to understand literature through crafting essays on topics related to the novels they read.
Students will write three major papers:
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Literary Analysis Essay – a close reading of a selected novel or short text
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Literary Critique Essay – a response to a literary work informed by external criticism or theory
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Argument Essay – a research-based defense of a literary or thematic claim
Each essay will receive detailed, instructor-written feedback and guidance for revision. Students will also complete a creative project inspired by one of their selected texts.
Brief, targeted activities will reinforce students’ understanding of literary elements, vocabulary, and writing skills.
Purposeful Practice
Every assignment—whether a discussion post, a short reflection, or a major essay—is designed with purpose: to develop reading insight and a deeper understanding of American literature’s role in shaping and reflecting our culture.
Students will practice annotation, interpretation, argumentation, and creativity—building confidence in their ability to understand and write about literature with voice and purpose.
At the end of this course, students can expect to have a wide familiarity with American authors, literary movements, and overarching themes, as well as the ability to write and speak about them with a depth of understanding.